Video Arcades

Ah, what a breath of nostalgia, at least in the US. Video arcades are a dying breed here, and even the few that are still around, most of them don't have decent arcade games (scaled up Fruit Ninja? Really?). But once in a while, I'll find myself at an arcade with great games like Capcom vs SNK, or Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune, or Initial D Arcade Stage, or on really rare occasions, In The Groove 2 (a lesser-known DDR-like game that had much better gameplay, songs, and mechanics plus the ability to bring your own songs, and was subsequently sued into oblivious by Konami). But, how many here still try to go out and spend time at the arcade? Or, even better yet, live near an awesome video arcade still in business (in the US)? Or live outside the US where arcades thrive much like in Japan?

I go to this retro game shop that has four arcade cabinets, one has I think over 95 arcade games in it from the 98 KOF's to Samurai Showdown and Metal Slug then the others are Ms. Pac-Man, The Simpsons, etc. I would really like to find more or hell even buy some and make my own arcade shop!!

People sure don't like to gather in public anymore. Everyone has to do everything from the safety of their couch over the internet. The moment home consoles provided near similar experiences as arcade games, that industry fell apart. The only arcades around here are just giant ticket dispensers. My favorite place growing up was Peter Piper Pizza. Not the giant brightly colored warehouse versions that look like a high school cafeteria. This one was an actual restaurant with booths, dim lighting, a juke box with decent music, and the only thing that dispensed tickets was skee ball. I experience Mortal Kombat 1 through 3 before it changed locations and became the Chuck E Cheese knock off it is today.

Haha...i just went to the arcade yesterday!...It's a place called Aladdin's Castle!...ive been going there since I was a kid and I still go there with my friends!...I seem to never get enough of having Cruising the World tournaments and playing the original House of the Dead!..personally I just dont think ill ever grow outta playing arcade games!...oh well haha!

I used to have Aladdin's Castle here, but they all closed down. Now, aside from the arcades at the Mall of America which is a bit of a major trip to get to, the only arcade near me is a place called Time Out (a successor of sorts to the old Aladdin's Castle that used to be there). They're a lot smaller and have very few games, but they have In The Groove 2 and Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 3 (of which I'm one of the top local players in the community there and the first one to ever hold a #1 spot on the machine using a Nissan Silvia S15 in-game). But, sadly, there aren't enough of those anymore. I really want to get into the Initial D arcade game (the one with the tuning cards) but the only place that has it is a mall half an hour from where I live and it doesn't even have any tuner cards.